Phoenix Down
by CEED
Summary: Hojo didn't know it, but he had already discovered the secret to immortality. Too bad it got away before he found out... and lucky for Zack that he was dragging it around with him all that time.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Hojo didn't know it, but he had already discovered the secret to immortality. Too bad it got away before he found out... and lucky for Zack that he was dragging it around with him all that time.**

**Note: Rated T for some violence, and nudity(not sexual).**

**Phoenix Down**

He Watched.

That was all he really could do. He tried to move… anything, but his limbs didn't want to cooperate with him, they barely even twitched as he tried his hardest to move them… and Zack was in front of him fighting off what seemed like the entirety of ShinRa's army.

Everything was in a green haze that ebbed with his heartbeat, and at times he couldn't even see through it to the battle Zack was waging on his behalf.

As he tried and failed to move again a bullet lodged itself into Zack's thigh and his leg buckled under him, giving the troopers an opportunity they didn't miss to fire at his momentarily unguarded torso, and began to steadily fill him full of lead, even as he got back up and charged at them one last time.

Despair and soul wrenching heartache did what effort and determination had been unable to do so far, and with a grunt of effort Cloud lurched away from the rock-face Zack had leaned him against, and landed with a heavy thud onto the dusty ground.

The sounds of gunfire and Zack wreaking havoc on the army covered the sounds of Cloud's movement so no one noticed, but with the effort that first lunge had taken when he had to fight through the green haze and hadn't moved under his own power for over a year, green sparks danced in his vision and he blacked out, the sounds of the battle fading from awareness and even the feel of the ground underneath him disappeared.

When Cloud came to it was raining, and he didn't know what was going on. He had been turned over on his back, and for a while just stared into the covered sky uncomprehendingly.

Everything came back to him after that moment though, and with new found urgency and determined will, he tried to get up off his back, but slipped back into the mud immediately, limbs clumsy with disuse, even without the green haze to hinder him anymore.

Cloud panicked at first thinking that he was too late, and he couldn't get to Zack to help him, but quickly pulled himself back together, and knowing he couldn't get up all the way, rolled himself back onto his stomach, and began to clumsily, or at least in a less coordinated manner than he was used to doing it in, began to crawl the way the drill sergeant at ShinRa had drilled into all recruits in boot camp.

With a steady, but slow pace, Cloud crawled around the tall rock formation between him and his friend, and saw Zack laying on the ground in a puddle of blood, full of bullet holes, and staring dazedly into the sky, just as Cloud had done when he had first awoken, Buster sword flung to the side and barely in reach.

From this distance, Cloud couldn't tell whether Zack was breathing or not…

Pushing himself forward with effort that seemed to get easier as he continued to move, Cloud finally reached Zack's side after what seemed to be an eternity of crawling, and pushed himself higher, so he could see his friend's face.

Now that he was by Zack's side, Cloud could hear his stilted rasping breaths, and see his chest rising and falling… though just barely. He pulled his knees under him so he didn't have to strain his arms as much, and leaned over so he was closer to Zack's face and tried to speak for several moments before anything would come.

"Z-Zack…" he managed to get out, his brain was heavy, and didn't want to work, he could still feel something trying to push him back…

Zack grunted from his position on his back, and seemed to come to himself a bit more, eyes focusing on Cloud and blinking for a moment before he gathered breath to speak, "For the… both of us…" he said, and stopped, as if waiting for a confirmation.

"Both… of us?" Cloud managed, confused. What was Zack talking about?

"That's right…" Zack confirmed, leaving Cloud in his confusion, "you're gonna…" and he paused again trying to take as much air in as he could without causing more pain.

"You're gonna…" Cloud coaxed, trying to figure out what Zack was trying to say.

Through what seemed to be sheer force of will, Zack pushed his arm up, gripped the back of Cloud's neck, and pulled his face into his bullet riddled chest.

"Live." Zack puffed out at last, and had to regain a bit of breath before he continued. "You'll be… my living legacy." He seemed to be trying to fit as many word as he could into one breath, and after he finished his hand slid back off of Cloud's neck and flopped back out to his side.

Cloud slowly rose, trying to comprehend what his friend was trying to say. Living legacy…? Was Zack… leaving him? Cloud stared dazedly at Zack, blinking even as dread began to rapidly spread from the place it had taken up residence in his gut when he came to, and fill his whole being.

Zack… couldn't leave him. Zack was all that Cloud had. There… there wasn't anyone else, everyone else was already dead! He couldn't lose Zack too!

From somewhere within him, something was beginning to uncurl itself, feeling his anxiety and desperation, and it felt like warmth and magic.

Zack looked over to his sword, and with more effort than it should have taken, pulled the enormous construct toward Cloud in a proffering gesture while he spoke again, "My honor… my dreams…" he paused a moment and kept going, "they're yours now." He finished, his eyes clear and determined.

Cloud could only stare at him for a moment, then at the hilt that was being thrust in front of his face. The warmth and magic he could feel welling up within him sounded like a song of a thousand melodious voices in his head, and he could feel it was bidding him to do something, and he knew it was right, a cleansing fire and a rebirth, he could feel it. His hand rose to the sword, but he laid it over Zack's fingers and pushed it back down.

Ignoring Zack's stunned expression, Cloud laid himself down half on top of his friend, til his head rested back on Zack's chest and muttered, "You… won't die… on me here… Zack."

And then the world burned. 

He was burning.

One moment Zack was trying to pass on his legacy, to give his friend something to live for, to come out of the Mako Addiction permanently for, and the next moment blue-white flames had sprouted from every part of Cloud's body starting from the crest of his hair and working downward, consuming him and then they moved over Zack as well.

Though adrenaline had pumped through his body, accelerating his heartbeat to keep him alive those few minutes more when his friend had burst into flames, it had not been enough for his weakened body to move, and he could only watch as first his friend and then he himself had caught fire.

It was agony at first, as the flames had gone from blazing white and blue to orange and red as well, and then his head had filled with voices, a thousand voices singing that turned into the pure melody of phoenix song that had soothed all his pain and he had sunk smoothly into unconsciousness.

There was darkness, and then he was surrounded by a blindingly bright light that had seared every corner of his being until he was sure that he would never even see the flicker of a shadow out of the corner of his eye again, and then all was dark once more.

When Zack came to his nose was full of smoke and he was covered with ash. The clouds had broken apart and the sun was beginning to dry up the mud and puddles of water that had dotted the landscape like a bad case of freckles when he had fallen unconscious.

On top of him, in the same position as when he had begun sprouting flames, was Cloud.

A very unconscious Cloud.

At least he seemed to be actually resting now in true unconsciousness, eyes closed and breathing easy, not the mockery of unconsciousness that Mako Addiction put you into where you were awake, and experiencing everything, but not processing any of it.

Shifting, Zack became aware of the wet slime he was lying in, now it seemed with nothing between his skin and the muddy terrain. He could attest to that, because he could feel the muck in some very uncomfortable places. Zack curled an arm over Cloud's inert body, also naked, to keep him from sliding into the mud as he levered himself up and took a look around himself.

The plateau was as deserted as it was when Cloud had crawled over to him, the Buster sword was still beside him, but everything they had, had on them was gone, everything that could burn at least, the materia he had gathered on the journey from Nibelheim was scattered around him, the potions though had all evaporated, and everything else had burned away.

Slowly, Zack gathered his legs under him, testing them to see if they would hold under his and Cloud's weight, but they shook and slid out from beneath him like a newborn chocobo's and he nearly lost Cloud as he thudded back into the ashes and mud he had awoken in.

Huffing, Zack shifted Cloud so he had a more secure hold on him, and grabbed the Buster sword. He attempted to use it to lever himself up, but it was too big and he couldn't get it to a good angle to haul himself up with it. He looked regretfully down at Cloud, who was mostly clean of mud and apologized, "Sorry buddy, looks like you're gonna have to get a bit more dirty..." he trailed off as he heard a helicopter in the distance coming closer.

Adrenaline surged in his veins as he cursed. He didn't think they would be coming back this way so soon.

With renewed strength he secured Cloud, grabbed the Buster, and heaved himself up from the ground with a grunt. He glanced wildly in the direction of the ShinRa helicopter he had no doubt was manned by the Turks coming to survey the scene and either dispose of or gather the bodies, and moved Cloud over his shoulder before he took off as fast as he could.

Still cursing under his breath for not noticing the helicopter until it was nearly upon them, Zack ducked into a fissure that he almost hadn't seen in the side of a rock formation and prayed that the Turks hadn't been within range to see them yet and calmed his breathing. It was a tight fit, and his chest tightened with tension as the chopper neared even as he tried to relax and take deep calm breaths.

**Yeah, that's a cliffhanger... **

**So I had this brilliant idea, and fused Cloud with a phoenix to give him awesome coming-back-from-the-dead-immortality or something powers. They also have the amazing bonus of cleansing Jenova by fire so now Cloudy and Zack...y won't get voices and stuff... yay!**

**Anyway, I started this a long time ago and just haven't made any progress on it, 'cause I've got no idea where I want to go with this, so I'm putting it to vote, which you can find on my prophile(hopefully).**

**Should the Turks find them or not? Note that even if the Turks do find them, they aren't going to go back to Hojo, I'm just having trouble figuring out what should happen in the immediate future. **

**On another note, I've had this idea long enough, that I don't know if I'll ever get very far with it, so if you like it and want to do something with it... Run Free! and have lots of fun while you're at it.**

**With love and maniacal laughter, **

**CEED**


	2. Chapter 2

**Phoenix Down**

* * *

><p>Rain splashed over the barren plateau, pooling together in places to form muddy puddles and sloughing off rocks where there was nothing to keep it there with the same aplomb. Ripples formed across the grounded water and flew off the blades of a helicopter's propellers as it touched down on the plateau with a choppy roar. The helicopter was black with the red diamond logo of Shinra Electric Company emblazoned on its side. The blades of the propeller slowed as the helicopter powered down, and three men in blue suits stepped out.<p>

The first man out was impassive in his neatly pressed suit, his long hair pulled back into a harsh ponytail. He was of Wutaiin descent, as evidenced by his olive toned skin, more slanted eyes, and the tikala in the center of his forehead. He carried with him a small box as he made his way assuredly toward the cliff's edge, neither slowing nor hurrying his pace as he approached the still smoldering heap of what was reportedly once a SOLDIER First Class that he was well acquainted with.

The second to exit the helicopter, this time from the pilot's seat rather than the passenger's seating, was a rather lithe man, who could almost be called gangly. He was pale, and had a pair of goggles pushing his cherry red hair out of his eyes. Unlike the man before him, his suit was preferentially ruffled and sloppy, with his shirt untucked, and tattoos across his cheekbones. He quickly overtook his companion as he rushed over to the man sized blackened patch of ground near the cliff edge where he suddenly stopped.

The third man to disembark ducked into the back of the helicopter and hauled out a large grey metal trunk, before returning and hauling out a second trunk of the same make. Unlike both his companions, the third man was bald and black with several earrings decorating both of his ears and running all the way up his left ear. His suit was also sharply pressed with the addition of a pair of gloves covering his hands and a pair of shades covering his eyes, and he looked very distinguished with a well-trimmed goatee.

As the third man began steadily carting the two foot lockers over toward the smoldering heap of ashes, leather, and metal where the acrid smell of burning flesh originated, the redhead finally snapped out of his horrified state with a yelled curse and a kick aimed toward the pile that had once been a good friend. "We were so close!" he snarled at the air and sank to his knees with slumped shoulders, "We were so… close." He nearly sobbed, fingers clawing at the mud and rocks as if it would turn back time. The first man came to a stop beside him, surveying first the smoking heap, and then the surrounding area with calculating eyes.

After a few moments in which their companion drew up to them with his heavy load and set it down, the first gave a sharp nod, set the small box he had been carrying on top of the other two and began to set a brisk pace back to the helicopter. The third man gave the second a lingering glance before he too began to walk back to the helicopter. A moment later, the second man heaved himself up with a great sigh and trudged his way back into the helicopter, which shortly thereafter hummed to life, and with the steadily choppy hum of its propellers lifted away from the ground and they were on their way toward Midgar.

* * *

><p>After the roar of the helicopter faded into the background Zack heaved a sigh of relief from his cramped position with Cloud and his Buster Sword in the small cavity of a rock. For a moment there he had thought for sure that Tseng had spotted them, but thankfully the Turks had left and he and Cloud were safe.<p>

When the adrenalin had faded from his system, Zack came to the realization that he was naked and crammed into a small uncomfortable place with his equally naked friend and a large sword. Not only that, but they were also both soaked from all the rain and a little muddy and ashy in some places, especially Zack, who had been laying on the ground.

Awkwardly, Zack shifted and maneuvered the both of them and the Buster Sword out into the open, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the slippery slide of skin against skin by concentrating on the rough scrape of the rocks against his body. By the time he had gotten the both of them out of the rock, the rain had slowed and ceased, the sun's rays shining down and helping to warm their slightly chilled skin. Zack laid Cloud down carefully, back against the rock once more, and took a moment to just stare at his friend ponderously.

"Jeez Spike, that was one heck of an ace you pulled out of your sleeve…" Zack muttered, and shook his head. Turning, Zack scanned the area, listening intently for the hum of electronics that would clue him in to any surprises the Turks might have left behind.

There was nothing. No sign of any sort of movement, mechanical or otherwise in the area.

Cautiously Zack walked over to the large and small boxes left by the Turks at his and Cloud's… burning spot, the Buster Sword in hand. The larger boxes seemed familiar, something he had known well once… before the labs at least, but now some things were a bit fuzzy.

He eyed them and the smaller box suspiciously for a moment and gave them all a judicious thwack with the flat of his sword listening for anything that would indicated a bomb or surveillance device of some kind. When there wasn't anything to indicate either he picked up the smallest box first and gave it a little shake. The sound of paper sliding against paper met his ears, along with the jingle of metal against itself.

Now curious, he slowly opened the box and looked in. On top of stacks of envelopes was a set of keys that matched in color to the larger boxes which, now that he was looking for it, had key holes in them. After a moment of eyeing the plain white envelopes Zack grabbed the keys and set the smaller box aside. Intently listening for anything amiss, he inserted one of the keys and when that one didn't work he tried the other key.

The lock clicked open and when there didn't appear to be anything dangerous happening he slowly lifted the trunk lid and gaped at the contents. He kind of wanted to smack himself for forgetting what a footlocker was as his First Class uniforms from his days in Shinra as well as some new civilian clothes stared back at him, extra shoes, and nick knacks were all in there as well as what seemed to be the accumulated amount of gil he would have been getting paid for the past five years. There were other additions too, enough dried food, water, and other travel supplies and materia for two people to make it all the way up to the Northern Crater and then down to Gongaga.

Shaking his head in bemusement, Zack used a wash cloth to get as much mud and ash off of himself as he could and pulled on one of his new sets of civilian clothes and boots that fit perfectly, attaching the Buster Sword to its new magnetic holster and, with a delightful flash of inspiration, equipping a few materia. Then he closed and locked his footlocker and set it aside as well, before he opened up the second footlocker just as cautiously as he had the first. Looking in at the clothes, gil, and more travel supplies in what he was sure was Cloud's footlocker Zack had to give a hand to Tseng. Now he was certain that the Turk knew that they had survived and seemed to be allowing them to escape, even encouraging it if the extra supplies and gil were anything to go by.

Zack eyed the first class uniform he was sure was Cloud's size speculatively for a moment, then went and gathered Cloud up and carried his friend's limp form over and laid it on top of his closed trunk, and after wiping him down with a fresh washcloth, dressed him in civilian clothes and boots as well. He then closed and locked Cloud's trunk after grabbing a rope out of it, and stacked the footlockers on top of each other with Cloud on top of them, and cast Mini on the pile so it would all be easier to carry. Using the rope, he tied the trunks together with the box of letters on top, and heaved the miniaturized Cloud over his shoulder, and set off toward Midgar, towing the boxes behind him.

* * *

><p>Below the industrial capitol of Shinra, with its gleaming metal tower and expansive Plate, the Slums festered with its ill kept buildings, rotting trash heaps, and high crime rates. A non-descript truck slowly pulled up to the front of an old church building, its roof rotting and with holes throughout it. Shafts of sunlight penetrated the gloom, and shown sinisterly across the helmet of the truck's sole occupant, a Shinra SOLDIER, who rechecked his PHS to make he had gotten his information correct.<p>

He stepped out of the heavy duty vehicle and steadily walked towards the church's large double doors, hand absently checking to make sure his sword was in his harness and ready for use.

* * *

><p>OMAKE: Without…<p>

01-The Guard

Justin squinted into the light of the setting sun. There was a strange figure making its way steadily closer to his guard post at the entrance of Midgar. He couldn't quite tell what it was from such a distance, especially with the city lights not turned on yet. It appeared to be flesh colored, but that could have been the sunset throwing things off. It certainly wasn't in the shape of anything human, though it seemed to have the height of one. There were too many limbs on one side where it was thicker, and a strange angular shape dragging from its other side.

As the thing –it might have been one of the Science Department's experiments finding its way back, who knew what kind of insane creatures that place was turning out- drew closer he readied his Shinra-issued rifle, prepared to shoot it –whatever it was- if it showed any hostile intentions, when the city lights finally turned on, throwing the creature into sharp relief.

It was two naked males, one carrying the other over his shoulder on one side, and carrying a large sword with his free hand.

Justin stared at the naked men.

The naked man that was awake –since his friend seemed to be unconscious if his limp sprawl was anything to go by- stared back at him.

Gathering up his wits again, Justin straightened himself and said, as impassively as he could, "Sir, I'm going to have to arrest you for indecent exposure."

"Aw, really?" the naked man, who very clearly had naturally black hair whined. "It's not like we wanted to be naked out here man, we were drinking with friends last night and we just woke up like this in the middle of the Wastes! My buddy here hasn't even woken up yet!" He pleaded, eyes wide.

Justin pursed with lips for a moment then gave in with a sigh, eyeing the smaller form over the man's shoulder with vague pity. "Alright, but just this once." He conceded. "Go get in my car over there, I'm almost off shift, and then we can go get you some clothes before you flash someone else." He gestured to an older car in the nearby parking lot.

He spent the last thirty minutes of his shift remembering all the situations he had woken up in when he had gone drinking with friends and passed out.


End file.
